5 Pascal Siakam trades the Toronto Raptors may need to consider

5 Pascal Siakam trades the Toronto Raptors need to consider: New York Knicks

What a homecoming this would be. RJ Barrett is one of the most famous current basketball players from Canada, and he’s actually from Toronto, too.

Seeing him suit up for the Raptors would make headlines for weeks, and the fans would undoubtedly love it. Plus, past the obvious storylines, Barrett has a lot of potential. He’s had a relatively up-and-down career with the  Knicks, but sometimes a young player needs to move to a new situation in order to get the most out of his career.

A similar statement can be said about Toppin, who showed off a bit more potential this year. In Toronto, he could earn more opportunities and would have a chance to really break out into a star. Toronto would also snag four firsts in the deal, as the Knicks have a plethora of picks at their disposal they’ve likely been hanging onto in hopes of landing a star.

For New York, the fit with Pascal Siakam and Julius Randle wouldn’t be perfect, but a star is a star. Plus, the Knicks could always explore the idea of trading Randle.

Regardless, Tom Thibodeau would find a way to make it work. Siakam’s defensive versatility would make it easy to plug him into most lineups, and with how close the Knicks got to the Eastern Conference finals this year, they’ll undoubtedly be looking to improve.

(New York would probably be better off trading Randle for some extra shooting, as the starting lineup with him and Siakam could lack spacing.)

Potential starting lineups:

Raptors: Fred VanVleet (if re-signed), RJ Barrett, OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl (if re-signed)

Knicks: Jalen Brunson, Quentin Grimes, Julius Randle, Pascal Siakam, Mitchell Robinson